Creating synergies between biodiversity and other development strategies

To promote synergy and coordination, and to avoid duplication, between relevant programmes of various international organizations and between programmes at the national and regional levels established under the auspices of international organizations, while respecting the mandates and existing programmes of work of each organization and the intergovernmental authority of the respective governing bodies, commissions and other forums.

Priority setting will require to carefully consider on all levels – national, regional, eco-regional and global – in which form synergies can be used or strategically created by linking biodiversity conventions and other development strategies, initiatives and systems.

Increasing the level of resourcing for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, in particular by promoting the benefits of increased synergy between the Convention on Biological Diversity and other biodiversity conservation strategies (regional and national) on the one hand, and programmes and policies of commercial, financial and multilateral and bilateral support programmes on the other.

The level of resourcing for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in Europe can be raised by promoting the benefits of increased synergy between the Convention on Biological Diversity, Pan-European Biological and landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) and the EC Biodiversity Strategy on the one hand, and programmes and policies of commercial, financial and multilateral and bilateral support programmes on the other.

The European Community Biodiversity Strategy (1998) is the response of the European Community to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The EC Strategy as such does not introduce new funds. However, via the further integration of biodiversity considerations into other EC sectors it is expected that the resourcing potential for biodiversity will increase. Fundamental to the EC Strategy is the taking into account of existing EC financial instruments for the environment and recognising the value of much larger funds, such as the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund. Whilst the above highlights that formal resourcing relationships between the CBD, PEBLDS and the EC Biodiversity Strategy can be identified, the operational synergy on resourcing issues between these instruments could be improved.